Jon Huntsman Jr. Quotes

This is a time when the United States should be standing tall. There is no other leader in the world today. We shouldn’t be approaching conflicts as a team sport. We either get in an we lead and we do a good job, or you don’t get in at all.

The rest of the world cares about how we conduct our affairs because they then take that lead. We’re the only leader in the world today. Some are wishing us well, others think that we’re down and are not going to get back up again, but they are all watching with great interest to see how we conduct our business over the next couple of years.

For those of us who have lived abroad and seen our nation in a highly competitive 21st century, and kind of see where this world is going – unless we are able to strengthen our core, we’re going to see the end of the American century. And that is totally unacceptable.

I can’t stomach the thought that we are passing down to the next generation a country that is less viable, less good, less competitive, less compassionate than the one we got.

I don’t think you need to run down someone’s reputation in order to run for the office of president.

I respect the president. He and I have a difference of opinion on how to help the country we both love. But the question each of us wants the voters to answer is who will be the better president, not who is the better American.

Today, I’m a candidate for the office of president of the United States of America. My kids can’t believe I just said that.

I’m a true native of the Bay Area.

Normal people don’t just wake up in the morning and say I think it’d be a good idea to run for president of the United States.

My sense is that we’re ready for another industrial revolution in this country. The great minds and innovators of Silicon Valley would come through China and say, The pipeline is full of ideas – there’s personalized medicine, biotechnology, new forms to power ourselves, clean energy, etc., etc.

The reality, sitting ten thousand miles away, is that we remain the country that inspires. We remain that shining city on a hill.

I had the trade minister in China sit down as we were preparing for trade negotiations. He said, ‘Please don’t let people in the United States lose their confidence because when you lose your confidence, the rest of the world suffers’.

That’s what governors do, they wrestle with the issues, they find solutions and they move the agenda forward. At the appropriate time we’ll talk about all of these issues, while remembering that our party is a big tent party. We lose when we try to become exclusive to one particular set of issues.

If you can’t define a winning exit strategy for the American people, where we somehow come out ahead, then we’re wasting our money, and we’re wasting our strategic resources.

It’s a tribal state, and it always will be. Whether we like it or not, whenever we withdraw from Afghanistan, whether it’s now or years from now, we’ll have an incendiary situation. Should we stay and play traffic cop? I don’t think that serves our strategic interests.

I’m surprised that we’ve gotten to a point where we don’t put our country first and put our party first.

If we can’t find cuts in the defense budget, we’re not looking carefully enough.

What is important is that you’re honest with the American people.

It’s taken a lot of presidents to get us where we are today, a lot of deployments, a lot of wars, a lot engagements. You add them all up.

I’m not competing in Iowa for a reason.